Marius Augustus Warren
(Author's Note: this article contains major spoilers related to the Vancil 1418 Universe. *''PROCEED ACCORDINGLY''*) Marius Augustus Warren is a distant relative by unspecified descent of Alexander Warren from the 22nd century - or at least, from one possible iteration of it. Not much of his early life is known. In the year 2173, at the age of 52, he was equipped by an unspecified international governmental organization - presumably something like our own reality's United Nations (which does not exist in the Vancil 1418 Timeline) - and sent through dimensional time & space to the present day reality of the Vancil 1418 universe, i.e. the year 2019. His mission: to permanently kill or otherwise dispose of the woman known as Anneliese Vancil. Early Life Marius Warren's parents, place of birth, and history remain largely unknown. Only a handful of people in the year 2019 are even aware of his temporally-displaced existence (the two principle persons being Anneliese herself & Marius's relative, Alexander). At some point prior to being transported back to the early 21st century, Marius acquired terminal cancer - presumably fairly early in his life, as it had reached a very advanced stage by the time of his arrival in the year 2019. Although the technology existed in his own timeline to cure his illness, he is among a tiny minority of people with a fundamental genetic abnormality preventing the gene-altering therapy that would treat or prevent such afflictions. It is presumed that Warren's incurable condition - a medical anomoly in his own future reality - was a primary factor in his being chosen for the operation. According to himself, a person sent back in time cannot return. Motivations & Home Reality In Marius's "home" reality (and unlike in Anneliese's present-day world), humanity at large is fully aware of the existence of Magic, the other two Planes / Spheres of Existence and everything else that comes with them. The reason for this is some kind of cross-dimensional global cataclysm which occurred (or will occur) sometime in the later part of the 21st Century. This event vastly increased the number of demons wandering the Material Plane and nearly brought about the complete collapse of human civilization as a whole. According to Marius, the Cataclysm - as the people of his time refer to it - was somehow instigated, knowlingly or otherwise, by Anneliese Vancil. In any case, the event forced mankind to come to grips with and employ previously-secretive Thaumaturgic knowledge on a general scale, in order to preserve their own existence. In the long run, this blurred together the division between Scientific / Technological & Magical understanding until they became one and the same thing, opening up boundless new possibilities for human progress. The people of Marius's universe have developed, among many other things, the beginnings of dimensional / temporal manipulation: allowing Faster-Than-Light travel and - apparently - time travel. Marius himself has only a basic understanding of the physics and workings behind such technologies. What is apparent, however, is that his own future society is vastly different from that of the early 21st Century. Thaumaturgic Practice, or "Sorcery" as he refers to it, is illegal and punishable by death. Adherence to the Catholic faith is mandatory, and the culture is overall much more intolerant and restrictive. Mission Marius was sent back to one version of reality as it was in 2019 (i.e. the Vancil 1418 Universe) to kill Anneliese Vancil. The exact process or criteria by which his superiors chose this particular permutation of the "past" is unknown. Somehow, the events of that specific timeline were aligned in such a way as to be the one where Anneliese is most likely going to bring about her proported Cataclysm. The reasoning behind Warren's mission, then, is thus: if he can permanently kill / incapacitate Vancil in this particular reality, the apocalyptic events she has the potential to cause can be prevented. The problem, however, is that the government which gave Marius his orders doesn't actually know whether or not killing Anneliese in 2019 will alter the continuity of all possible futures. Their actions are based only on theory, supposition and a sense of fundamental hatred (not to mention a desire to prevent the deaths of millions of people). Furthermore, because Marius is unable to return to his original time, he will never know the outcome even if he is successful in his mission. Nevertheless, Marius is committed fanatically to his appointed task in a manner very similar to his ancestor, Alexander. In fact, his first priority upon reaching the year 2019 was to establish contact with, and enlist the aid of, the Witch Hunter Alexander Warren - who also harbors a deep, pathological hatred of Anneliese (albiet for probably less justifiable reasons). Equipment Marius was not sent back to the past empty-handed. A small, devoted "crew" of support personnel was deployed to the target reality ahead of him to asist him in his mission and establish a base of operations. With them, they brought many pieces of technology from their own universe, ensuring Marius would actually have the ability to kill Anneliese (who is understandably, as an accomplished Magical practitioner and immortal, a rather formidable enemy). The most obvious tool at Warren's disposal is a highly advanced powered exoskeletal armor system. This suit serves to keep his cancer in check and prolongue his life artificially, as well as enables him to function in combat despite his advancing age and deteriorated physical condition. It is permanently bound to Marius's physical self and cannot be removed: the nerve impulses from his brain are rerouted into the electro-stimulated artifical muscles beneath its exterior and it regulates even the most minute details of his body's functions, routine or otherwise (much like a modern-day ECMO machine, but on an even more intensive scale). However, the suit exponentially multiplies his physical abilities (speed, strength, etc), protects him from attacks both mundane and Magical in nature, and acutely enhances his senses through a variety of technological information gathering mechanisms. It also incorporates a system of thrust-vectoring jets - presumably a type of electrically-powered ion engine - which allows him to fly. In addition, Marius has access to a variety of futuristic weapons (some of which are integral to his armor). A list of some of them follows: *'Handgun -' a very large "pistol" which serves as Marius's primary weapon. It is a magnetic accelerator, a "coil gun", and fires ultra-dense tungsten-carbide alloy spikes in either automatic or semi-automatic modes. These unique projectiles are hollow and telescopic, becoming almost a foot long once ejected from the weapon's muzzle. They contain an unknown gas that is combusted by the electromagnetic firing process, causing the exterior metal of the spikes to become hot enough to cauterize biological tissues almost instantaneously. The weapon is fed from a 25-round drum magazine located on the underside, in front of the trigger. There are apparently several types of ammunition for the weapon, the most common variant being rounds in which the heating gas is replaced by a volatile explosive liquid mixture. These rounds do not become heated when fired like the normal bullets, but will explode quite powerfully on contact. *'Blackhole Gun' - the name given by Anneliese to a rather unusual break-action shotgun-like weapon firing a shell which generates a localized, spherical singularity that pulls nearby objects / persons into itself. The singularity is a portal to a micro-dimensional containment cell inside a cylindrical cartridge on the underside of the rifle. This magazine, and the battery (which is loaded horizontally across the top of the weapon like the magazine of an FN P90), must be changed after each shot. Eventually, about 24 hours after having been used, the containment field in the magazine will break down and release its contents as energy. However, because Anneliese is immortal, the weapon cannot be used to permanently kill her. Once the field fails and her essence is released, her physical self would eventually reform. *'Sword' - a unique telescopic sword with a blade made from a closed conductive loop of super-heated plasma. This is Marius's favorite weapon, although he does not use it as regularly as his pistol. *'Wrist Blades' - telescopic blades of the same design as Marius's sword, integrated into the gauntlets of his armor *'Shotgun - '''a futuristic automatic shotgun firing clusters of smaller, superheated tungsten-carbide spikes. The flight-path, spread and impact pattern of these submunitions is programmable. Can also fire explosive variants of the spikes, like the pistol. *'Gauntlets - 'due to the massive strength increase which Marius's suit imparts to him, his armored hands are effective weapons in their own right. He has been shown to have the capability to pick up and throw automobiles, although only with some difficulty. *'Plasma Projectors - '''small but powerful, short-ranged directed energy weapons integrated into the shoulders of Marius's suit and capable of independent targeting through a link to his Heads-Up-Display. They fire bolts of plasma that will disappate relatively quickly, limiting their effective range. *Other devices at his disposal include a variety of explosive charges & grenades, a small silent gas-powered pistol firing poisonous darts, homing devices capable of adhering to most any surface, reconnaissance drones and a small projector in the right gauntlet firing tiny bullets which implant the target with a near-undetectable, microscopic tracking chip. Personality & Relationship with Alexander Warren Marius and his ancestor Alexander share many similar traits. Both men are zealously, fanatically committed to an extremist, anti-Magical doctrine of Catholicism and harbor deep hatreds of all who practice Thaumaturgy, but of Anneliese Vancil in particular. However, while Alexander shares many common beliefs with his descendent, his faith and ideas are decidedly in the minority in his own timeline. The official doctrine of the Catholic Church in 2019, among those who are aware of the existence of Magic, is in fact rather positive: the Christian Faith and the practitioners of Thaumaturgy share a common enemy in the form of the demonic and those who would abuse Magical power for their own ends (i.e. Warlocks / Witches). Marius's own hatreds are much more institutionalized, being the enforced norm in his own timeline. He also seems to be less straightforward in his moralism, and proved himself willing to kill several innocent people in order to establish an ideal scenario in which Anneliese would be at her most vulnerable. This causes a degree of friction between the two relatives: Alexander's motive is to protect the innocent from the perceived evils of Magic, while Marius simply wants to destroy Anneliese to prevent an apocalyptic future event only he is fully aware of. Category:Vancil 1418 Universe Category:Characters of the Vancil 1418 Universe